A 17/18-33
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 30 May 2018 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Paper
Report No. 13/17-18 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
(to be presented by Hon Starry LEE, Chairman of the House Committee)
II. Questions
1. Hon Vincent CHENG to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed to me that poor environmental hygiene in the community will easily cause mosquito and rodent problems, posing direct threat to public health. As hot weather has come back in recent days and the rainy season is approaching, mosquitoes, insects and rodents breed easily, resulting in the risk of an outbreak of infectious diseases growing day by day. It is learnt that a number of District Councils ("DCs") have relayed to the authorities that the environmental hygiene at certain streets is unsatisfactory and is even worsening, including illegal dumping of construction waste and illegal littering by members of the public, accumulation of water and food remnants in rear lane drains, etc. Regarding the prevention and control of mosquito and rodent problems, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Ovitrap Index, which mainly serves to survey the infestation of Aedes albopictus, has been formulated for a number of years since 2000, whether the Government will review and improve the Index, including the extension of the surveillance scope to cover the infestation of other mosquitoes and insects, such as Culicine mosquitoes which may transmit Japanese encephalitis, Anopheline mosquitoes which may transmit malaria, as well as biting midges which feed on blood and whose bites produce seriously itchy welts; if so, of the implementation time; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as a number of members of the public and DCs have complained that the rodent problem of the old districts and districts where many restaurants are located is very serious, and traits of rodents can be found everywhere at night, but the Rodent Infestation Rates ("RIRs") in those districts as recorded by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") are on the low side, whether the Government has studied if RIRs can reflect the actual situation; if so, of the details; as it is learnt that FEHD completed the first phase of the Anti-rodent Campaign in March this year, of the effectiveness of the Campaign, including the numbers of dead rodents collected and live rodents caught; and (3) as the Government is installing Internet Protocol ("IP") cameras at various hygiene black spots in phases to collect evidence of illegal dumping of refuse by offenders with a view to strengthening the deterrent effect, but the locations selected for installing IP cameras in the first phase are mostly places located outside refuse collection points, of the reasons why the Government has not accepted the several installation locations proposed by DCs such as rear lanes; whether it will consider coordinating various government departments in installing IP cameras at the locations proposed by DCs in future?
2. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
The Education Bureau ("EDB") has decided to resume the Primary 3 Territory-wide System Assessment ("TSA") from this year. Each year, EDB will sample 10% of the Primary 3 students from each public sector and Direct Subsidy Scheme ("DSS") primary school to participate in TSA, which is administered by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority ("HKEAA"). Meanwhile, schools may apply to HKEAA on their own for participation in TSA by all the Primary 3 students in their schools, and may request for their TSA school reports from HKEAA under such circumstances. It has been reported that, as at 30 April, about 230 primary schools in Hong Kong, including 30 government primary schools, opted for all the Primary 3 students in their schools to participate in TSA this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of schools to date that have applied for participation in TSA by all the Primary 3 students in their schools this year and the total number of students involved, together with a breakdown by school type (i.e. aided, DSS, government and private primary schools); (2) as EDB has indicated that it will, upon resumption of TSA, continue to monitor whether there is any recurrence of the situation of schools drilling their students for participating in the assessment, whether EDB has formulated a specific monitoring mechanism for this purpose and monitor the situation directly through major stakeholders such as teachers and parents; if so, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) of the type of follow-up measures to be adopted by the authorities for addressing situations such as schools drilling students or disrupting their normal learning in order to cope with TSA, or attracting enrolment by students through boasting about their TSA results?
3. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
To assist the recycling industry in enhancing operational capabilities and efficiency, the Government established the Recycling Fund ("the Fund") in October 2015, with an allocation of $1 billion for application by recyclers for subsidies. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that as at February this year, a total of 128 projects involving a total funding of about $94 million was approved under the Fund, but the expenditure incurred by the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the Secretariat of the Fund, on processing applications for the Fund, monitoring the progress of the projects and conducting compliance checks was as high as $13 million (accounting for 12% of the total amount of approved funding, i.e. such expenditure being as high as $100,000 for each funded project on average), whether the Government has reviewed if such an expenditure level is on the high side, and whether secretariat support for the Fund will instead be provided by the Government in-house; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that the recovery rates of plastics and food waste in 2016 slightly rose by three percentage points and less than one percentage point respectively and the recovery rate of paper dropped by two percentage points when compared with those in the year before that, whether the Government has studied why the recovery rates of those materials have shown no marked improvement after the Fund was launched; of the measures to further boost the recovery rates, and whether it will formulate more ambitious recovery rate targets; and (3) given that more than $30 million has so far been approved under the Industry Support Programme ("ISP") under the Fund to provide funding support for relevant organizations to undertake non-profit-making projects with a view to enhancing the capability and productivity of the recycling industry, whether the Government has assessed the effectiveness of ISP; as quite a number of recyclers have relayed that the application procedure of the Fund is complicated, whether the Government will further streamline the relevant procedure; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon YUNG Hoi-yan to ask: (Translation)
The Government currently provides long-term sites at the EcoPark in Tuen Mun for lease by the recycling industry at an affordable cost. The Government has also set aside a number of short-term tenancy sites in various districts for lease by the recycling industry. However, some recyclers have relayed that each time when their tenancies for short-term tenancy sites are not renewed upon expiry, they need to look for sites for relocation, or else they need to make layoffs or even close down business. This situation is not only unfavourable to the long-term development of the recycling industry, but it also affects the operation of the small and medium enterprises concerned and the livelihood of the practitioners. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current number of short-term tenancy sites for lease by recyclers and, in respect of each site, set out by District Council district the location, area, planned use, the year in which the first tenancy was granted, the number of times for which the tenancy has been renewed so far, the cumulative years of tenancy, as well as the dates on which the existing tenancies commenced and will expire, the name of the tenant and the types of waste recycled; whether the Government will provide more short-term tenancy sites for lease by the recycling industry; if so, in respect of those sites, of their locations, areas, planned uses, the number of years for which they are available for leasing, restrictions on the types of waste to be recycled, the respective expected dates on which tenders will be invited and tenancies will commence; (2) whether the Government will formulate measures to address the problem of unstable business environments faced by the tenants of short-term tenancy sites, e.g. granting longer tenures, providing long-term sites at the EcoPark, on the periphery of landfills, restored landfills and other suitable locations for them to lease at an affordable cost, and assisting them in finding suitable sites on the Mainland; of the tenancies of the sites at the EcoPark in the past five years; whether it will comprehensively review matters concerning the EcoPark such as the management, grant of sites for lease and the provision of facilities; if so, of the details; and (3) whether it has formulated long-term goals and promotional strategies for the development of the recycling industry, such as offering land and tax concessions in order to assist the industry in upgrading and restructuring operations, as well as seizing the opportunities brought about by the nation's development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon Dennis KWOK to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the development of financial technology has been feverish in recent years globally. Quite a number of people raise funds through initial coin offering to exchange for a widely used cryptocurrency or cash in order to raise money to fund the research and development of a particular blockchain-related project. It has also been reported that the People's Bank of China ("PBoC") will issue a statutory digital currency, and such a move will bring mammoth changes to both the Hong Kong and global economies. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities will consider afresh enacting legislation to regulate the issuance, trading and storage of cryptocurrencies; if so, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether the authorities have taken measures to ride on the opportunities arising from PBoC's issuance of a statutory digital currency to develop Hong Kong into an offshore or international trading hub for the digital currencies concerned; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will, by making reference to the practices of overseas countries, explore the issuance of a free-circulating statutory digital currency and make it a means of payment that has legal backing, as well as enacting legislation to regulate the relevant trading platforms, so that the Government may monitor the relevant transactions systematically to prevent lawbreakers from using such currencies and platforms for conducting illegal activities including but not limited to money laundering?
6. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link is expected to be commissioned in September this year and it will be connected to the national high-speed rail network on the Mainland. It has been reported that the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") will sell, at the West Kowloon Station ("WKS"), only tickets for the high-speed rail routes plying between WKS and 18 high-speed rail stations on the Mainland ("HK routes"). Since MTRCL has not been authorized to sell tickets for the other high-speed rail routes ("Mainland routes"), passengers who wish to change to trains along the Mainland routes after travelling on trains along the HK routes have to buy, in advance, tickets for the Mainland routes at the counters operated by a ticketing agent at WKS or through other means. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government or MTRCL has taken part in the selection of the Mainland ticketing agent that will operate at WKS; whether it knows the way in which the selection was conducted, as well as its procedure, timetable, outcome and criteria, and whether the selection criteria include the level of service fees to be charged and the payment methods for tickets; (2) whether it knows why MTRCL has not been authorized to sell tickets for the Mainland routes, and the details of the discussion between MTRCL and the China Railway Corporation ("CRC") about the ticketing arrangements; the estimated monthly number of passenger trips on trains along the HK routes, the estimated monthly number of passenger trips changing to trains along the Mainland routes after travelling on trains along the HK routes, the estimated service fees for tickets to be charged by the ticketing agent at WKS, and its related monthly income; and (3) whether it knows if CRC and the ticketing agencies have to obtain the authorization of MTRCL to sell tickets for the HK routes; if they have to, of the details, and whether the former will charge service fees for tickets; whether MTRCL will set up counters at the high-speed rail stations on the Mainland to sell tickets for the HK routes; if MTRCL will, of the details?
*7. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)
The number of cases in which divorce decrees were granted by the court rose from 6 295 in 1991 to 17 196 in 2016, representing a rate of increase of 1.7 times. Moreover, there were 73 428 single parents in Hong Kong in 2016, of whom more than 30% were recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance. On the other hand, the Integrated Family Service Centres ("IFSCs") of the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") provide social services for single-parent families at present. However, there are comments that the services currently provided by IFSCs for single-parent families are neither comprehensive nor persistent. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of requests for assistance from single parents handled by the various IFSCs in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by (i) catchment district and (ii) type of issues pertaining to the requests for assistance, as well as the respective percentages of such numbers in the total; the average time taken for handling such cases; the criteria adopted by IFSCs for making the decision to close a case; (2) of the current (i) staff establishment, (ii) average number of cases handled by each social worker, and (iii) annual operational expenditure, of each IFSC; whether SWD has reviewed the operation and staff establishment of IFSCs on a regular basis; (3) given that IFSCs currently provide services through a district-based approach, whether the cases of the two parties of separated/divorced couples who reside in different catchment districts are handled by the social workers from different IFSCs; if so, how the authorities ensure that the social workers concerned maintain effective communication with each other in order to comprehensively assess the needs of such separated/divorced couples; (4) given that SWD will set up five one-stop co-parenting support centres ("CPSCs") to be operated by non-governmental organizations in the current financial year, of the (i) address, (ii) estimated annual expenditure, and (iii) staff establishment of each CPSC; (5) of the number of cases for which services have been provided under the Pilot Project on Children Contact Service since its commencement in September 2016; given that SWD intends to regularize the project and incorporate the relevant service into CPSC's scope of services, of the relevant details and implementation timetable; (6) whether it will set up specialized service units (e.g. one-stop support centres for single-parent families) to provide comprehensive support services for separated/divorced families; and (7) given that default in alimony payments is a major problem faced by single-parent families, whether the Government will consider setting up a managing organization or monitoring mechanism for alimony to help address the problem?
*8. Hon Dennis KWOK to ask: (Translation)
According to the Statistics on Private Housing Supply in Primary Market released by the Transport and Housing Bureau, as at the end of last year, there were 9 000 unsold units in the completed private buildings in the territory. On the other hand, the Collector of Stamp Revenue may grant, under section 45 of the Stamp Duty Ordinance (Cap. 117), stamp duty relief to an instrument that conveys or transfers a beneficial interest in an immovable property from one associated body corporate to another. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the aforesaid 9 000 unsold units include those leased out by the developers concerned; if so, of the number concerned; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of a breakdown of the aforesaid 9 000 unsold units by (ii) the unit floor area classification used by the Rating and Valuation Department in compiling the statistics and, among such units, the number of those which were leased out by the developers concerned; (3) of the following information in respect of each of the developments mentioned in (2): (i) the District Council district in which the development is located, (ii) the street number, (iii) the date on which the occupation permit was granted, (iv) the date on which the certificate of compliance (commonly known as "letters of satisfaction") was granted, (v) the sum of the prices of the unsold units concerned on the price list, and (vi) the sum of the rateable values of the unsold units concerned; (4) among the aforesaid 9 000 unsold units, whether there are units in respect of which the beneficial interests have been conveyed or transferred upon completion and the instruments concerned have been granted stamp duty reliefs by the Collector of Stamp Revenue under section 45 of the Stamp Duty Ordinance; if so, of the number of such units; if not, the reasons for that; (5) under the existing requirement, when the transferee of a conveyance or transfer mentioned in (4) sells the unit concerned subsequently to a third person who is not his or her associate, whether the former is required to make retrospective payment in respect of the stamp duty relief granted by the Collector of Stamp Revenue under section 45 of the Stamp Duty Ordinance; if so, of the number of such cases in each of the past three years and the amount of stamp duty involved in each case; (6) of the number of instruments involving conveyance or transfer of beneficial interests of private domestic units which were granted stamp duty reliefs under section 45 of the Stamp Duty Ordinance in each of the past three years and, in respect of each instrument, the date of conveyance or transfer and the amount of stamp duty involved (set out in a table); and (7) given that if the association between two body corporates ceases within two years after the date of execution of the instrument, the Collector of Stamp Revenue shall have the right to withdraw the stamp duty relief that has already been granted under section 45 of the Stamp Duty Ordinance, of the number of cases in which the Collector of Stamp Revenue withdrew the stamp duty reliefs in each of the past three years, and the amount of stamp duty involved in each case (set out in a table); whether the authorities have reviewed the implementation of the relief requirement; if not, of the reasons for that; if so, the details, including whether such requirement will be amended?
*9. Dr Hon Helena WONG to ask: (Translation)
The dermatology specialist outpatient clinics under the Department of Health ("DH") provide treatment for psoriasis patients, and refer patients of serious cases to the dermatology biologic therapy ("biologic therapy") outpatient clinic at Prince of Wales Hospital ("PWH") for treatment. DH enhanced the referral mechanism in June 2016, tasking a medical consultant with the responsibility for assessing whether the psoriasis patients of clinics under DH meet the criteria for receiving biologic therapy so as to expedite referrals. However, there are currently more than 3 000 patients in Hong Kong who are suitable for receiving biologic therapy, but the number of such patients so referred since 2012 has been few and far between. On the other hand, the authorities plan to offer biologic therapy outpatient service at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital ("Eastern Hospital") in the first quarter of 2018, but such plan has not yet been implemented. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the number of psoriasis patients referred by DH for receiving biologic therapy since the implementation of the aforesaid enhanced mechanism, and (ii) among such patients, the number of those who received biologic therapy subsequently and the percentage of this number in the number of serious psoriasis patients in Hong Kong; (2) whether it knows the reasons why the Eastern Hospital has not yet introduced the biologic therapy outpatient service, and when such service will be introduced; (3) whether it knows if the Hospital Authority will step up the service provided at PWH's dermatology biologic therapy outpatient clinic, including increasing the service hours and patient quota; and (4) as a patient group has pointed out that psoriasis patients currently have to wait for 10 years on average before they receive treatment and thus will very likely miss the best timing for treatment, whether the authorities have comprehensively assessed the service needs of such patients; if so, of the assessment outcome; if not, whether they will conduct such assessment expeditiously?
*10. Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Report No. 70 of the Director of Audit published in April this year pointed out that the progress of the Government in expanding the coverage of Wi-Fi.HK services had been slow. For instance, Wi-Fi.HK services were provided in only 12 (about 29%) of the 42 public hospitals. Regarding the provision of free Wi-Fi services in public hospitals, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the (i) number, (ii) daily average usage, (iii) installation cost and (iv) daily expenditure of the Wi-Fi hotspots currently provided in the various public hospitals concerned, with a tabulated breakdown by name of hospitals and location of such hotspots in the hospitals; (2) of the reasons why Wi-Fi.HK services are so far not provided in most public hospitals; whether the authorities have drawn up a timetable for the provision of such services in all public hospitals; if so, of the details (including the number of Wi-Fi hotspots to be provided in various hospitals and the estimated expenditure); (3) as the aforesaid Report pointed out that no Wi-Fi signages had been put up at certain venues equipped with Wi-Fi hotspots, whether Wi-Fi signages have been put up near each Wi-Fi hotspot in the various public hospitals concerned at present, so that members of the public are aware of the availability of such services at those places; if so, of the details (including the names of the hospitals); if not, the reasons for that; and (4) as the information on the Wi-Fi.HK website shows that the distribution of Wi-Fi hotspot locations in various public hospitals is varied (e.g. Wi-Fi hotspots are available at the accident and emergency ("A&E") departments, outpatient clinics, pharmacies, canteens of Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital, whereas Wi-Fi hotspots are available only at its A&E department and certain specialist outpatient clinics of Princess Margaret Hospital), whether the authorities will consider providing Wi-Fi hotspots at places in hospitals where more patients and their family members stay (including A&E departments, outpatient clinics, pharmacies and canteens); if so, of the details (including the timetable); if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Hon SHIU Ka-fai to ask: (Translation)
Last month, the Consumer Council ("CC") recommended to the Government the introduction of a mandatory cooling-off period targeting certain industries (including the beauty industry) and specific transaction modes. Regarding the reply of the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development on the 9th of this month to my question concerning the recommendation, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as CC's study on the introduction of a mandatory cooling-off period does not cover cooling-off arrangements offered on a voluntary basis by traders in other jurisdictions, of the reasons why the authorities did not request CC to conduct a study that covers such arrangements; (2) whether it has assessed if CC has a predetermined stance before conducting the aforesaid study, and whether the outcome of the study is objective and fair; of the reasons why the authorities did not in the first place assign the study to a professional consultant with a neutral stance; (3) of the amount of public money that the authorities allocated to CC for conducting the study; whether it knows the manpower deployed for and the number of man-hours involved in the said study; (4) as the aforesaid reply to the question has not given a direct answer as to whether currently there are jurisdictions which have introduced a mandatory cooling-off regime for the beauty industry, whether the authorities know if CC has actually identified any jurisdiction which has introduced such a regime; (5) given that CC does not have the power to conduct investigations to ascertain if the complaints received are substantiated, whether the authorities know the basis on which CC made the remark that "operators in the beauty industry have adopted various types of unfair trade practices in recent years"; whether they have assessed if such a remark made by CC has tarnished the reputation of the beauty industry, and whether it is a responsible way of doing things; (6) given that CC will only take up the role of a conciliator in handling consumer complaints and it does not have the power to conduct investigations, whether the authorities have assessed if CC has gone beyond its statutory functions by repeatedly and publicly stating, under the circumstances of not having grasped information on the number of substantiated cases, that sales practices which seriously damage the rights and interests of consumers have emerged from time to time in certain industries; (7) as CC considers that, in respect of legitimate traders in general, the imposition of a mandatory cooling-off period will not result in a large number of consumers cancelling their contracts, and therefore the impact should be limited, whether the authorities know the basis on which CC made such a remark; whether CC had conducted any study and gained an understanding of the real situation from the industries concerned before making such a remark; if CC had not conducted any study and consultation, of the reasons why CC has made such a remark; (8) as CC has indicated that since it has formulated its recommendation after making reference to the experience of other jurisdictions, it believes that the recommendation has struck a balance between protecting consumers' legitimate rights and interests and maintaining a business-friendly environment, whether the authorities know how CC ascertains if the practices of such jurisdictions are applicable to Hong Kong; the reasons why CC has not made reference to the experience of those jurisdictions that allow traders to offer a cooling-off period on a voluntary basis; (9) as CC, having considered the general level of the relevant charge, has recommended that an administrative fee of not more than 3% of the credit card transaction value may be deducted by traders from the refund if consumers have paid by credit cards, whether the authorities know what data or study outcome is held by CC in support of its remark that "3% is the general level of the relevant charge"; (10) as CC considers that issues concerning acquiring banks/companies increasing their administrative fees for refund for transactions made by credit cards or delaying payment to traders are commercial arrangements between the acquiring banks/companies and traders, and not directly related to the imposition of a cooling-off period, whether the authorities know if CC had duly consulted the local banking and beauty industries to gain an understanding of the real situation before making such a remark; if CC had, of the details; if not, the reasons why CC has made such a remark; (11) as CC has recommended that a mandatory cooling-off period be applicable to contracts of not less than six months for beauty services, whether the authorities know if CC had conducted any study and duly consulted the industry concerned to gain an understanding of the real situation before putting forward such a recommendation; if CC had not conducted any study or consultation, of the reasons why CC has put forward such a recommendation; (12) of the reasons why the aforesaid reply to the question has not given an answer to the question as to whether CC had discussed its recommendation with the banking industry to ascertain the feasibility of the recommendation; (13) whether it knows the respective numbers of banks which (i) have ceased providing Point of Sales terminals and acquiring service to new clients of beauty service companies, (ii) imposed in the past five years the following measures on existing clients of beauty service companies: limiting the credit card transaction value; increasing the deposit required and delaying payment to traders (such as extending the period from 30 days to five months), and (iii) in providing acquiring service, charge those beauty service companies which apply for cancellation of credit card transactions (including purchase-by-installment transactions) an administrative fee equivalent to 4% to 10% of the total transaction value; (14) whether it knows that after CC published its recommendation, quite a number of beauty service companies have immediately been notified by banks that the refund handling fees for customers' purchase-by-installment transactions will be further increased and repayment to traders will be delayed (such as extending the period from a month to 90 days), and even those clients who have collateral with the banks are also treated in the same way; (15) of the reasons why the aforesaid reply to the question has not given an answer to the following question: whether, before making its recommendation (i.e. the trader can deduct from the refund the value of the service used and the amount shall be calculated pro rata to the total consideration stipulated in the contract), CC has considered (i) the fact that the trader's cost of providing a single unit of goods or service to the customer is usually higher than that of providing a batch of such goods or service, making it very likely for the trader to eventually bear the relevant differences in the cost, and (ii) if this recommendation will induce many people to exploit the loophole to enjoy part of the services at a lower average price through the purchase of packages; (16) of the reasons why the aforesaid reply to the question has not given an answer to the following question: whether the authorities know the justifications for CC to recommend that consumers may request for a refund without any reasons, and whether it has considered if this recommendation may lead to abuses or even be exploited as a strategy to undermine competitors in the business arena, which may eventually throw the market into chaos; (17) whether it has considered, instead of introducing a mandatory cooling-off period, reminding consumers through public education that they may choose to patronize beauty service companies which offer a cooling-off period on a voluntary basis, and with reference to the banks' current practice of keeping audio recordings of the selling process, requiring beauty service companies to make audio or video recordings of the selling process as a proof that no unfair trade practices have been employed; and (18) whether it has studied the contributions made by the beauty and related industries to the economy of Hong Kong and in providing employment opportunities; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct such a study?
*12. Hon YIU Si-wing to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed that the difficulty levels of hiking trails graded by different community groups according to different standards may result in inexperienced hikers having difficulties in appreciating the actual difficulty levels of the trails, making them susceptible to danger. Although the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") had erected warning signs in more precarious areas within country parks to alert hikers not to go there, a number of incidents in which hikers got into danger and were injured or killed still occurred in such locations in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of cases in which hikers (i) sought help, (ii) were injured and (iii) were killed after getting into danger in each of the past three years (set out in the table below); Year (i) (ii) (iii) 2015 2016 2017 (2) whether it has considered grading the difficulty levels of all trails for the reference of hikers in deciding the routes they go hiking; if so, of the details (including the criteria used); if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that a fatal drowning accident occurred at Quadruplex Pool in Sai Kung early this month even though the area had already been put on a list of high risk locations by AFCD, whether the authorities have considered taking more effective measures (including reviewing the locations and contents of existing warning signs), with a view to reducing the occurrence of accidents at high risk locations; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) given that green tourism has become increasingly popular, whether the authorities have considered setting the professional requirements to be met by docents and guides of green tour groups (such as the basic knowledge for leading a tour group and first aid skills), so as to ensure the personal safety of tour group members; if so, of the details, if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the Government's resumption of lands for public purposes in the past by invoking the Lands Resumption Ordinance (Cap. 124), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of times since 1 July 1997 for which the Government invoked Cap. 124 to resume lands for: (i) the development of public housing (including public rental housing estates and Home Ownership Scheme courts), and the details of each case; (ii) the construction of roads, and the details of each case; and (iii) other public purposes (with a breakdown by purpose), and the details of each case; (2) in respect of the land resumption cases mentioned in (1), of the number of cases in which the land owners lodged a judicial review (with a breakdown by outcome of the judicial review), and the average time taken from the Court's granting of leave for judicial review to its handing down of judgments on the judicial review; and (3) whether the North East New Territories New Development Areas Planning involves the need for the Government to resume for public purposes lands owned by real estate developers and lands owned by individuals; if so, whether the approaches for resumption of such lands include invoking Cap. 124; if they do, of the details (including whether Cap. 124 has already been invoked so far); if they do not, the reasons for that; if there are other approaches for resumption of such lands, of the details (including the expenditure involved) (set out the details by land owner being a real estate developer or an individual)?
*14. Hon HO Kai-ming to ask: (Translation)
Several incidents of lift failures causing casualties have happened in recent months, arousing concerns about issues relating to the safety, repair and maintenance of lifts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current total number of lifts in Hong Kong, with a breakdown by age of lifts (in age groups of five years each); (2) of the number of lift incidents causing casualties in each of the past three years, and among such incidents, the number of cases in which the registered lift contractors ("contractors") concerned were prosecuted for alleged breaches of the Lifts and Escalators Ordinance (Cap. 618) (broken down by age of lifts); (3) of the current ratio of the number of lifts to the number of registered lift/escalator workers ("L&E workers") in Hong Kong; whether it knows the average daily number of lifts the repair and maintenance works for which that each of such workers has to attend to; (4) as quite a number of L&E workers have relayed that when carrying out regular maintenance works for lifts, they are often redeployed by their employers to go elsewhere for undertaking emergency lift repair work, thereby affecting the quality of regular lift maintenance work, whether the authorities will consider (i) setting a standard on the minimum number of hours spent on regular lift maintenance work, and (ii) requiring contractors to assign different workers to carry out emergency repair work and regular maintenance work for lifts; (5) as quite a number of lifts of old models are not installed with a rope-gripping device which prevents unintended lift movement, whether the authorities will consider (i) amending the legislation in the short run to require contractors to retrofit this device in such lifts, and (ii) subsidizing property owners who have financial difficulties in carrying out such works; and (6) whether the authorities will, in the long run, consider launching a subsidy scheme to help property owners to replace lifts which are 30 years old or above, with a view to minimizing the occurrence of lift incidents?
*15. Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") has implemented a number of measures to promote the development of financial technologies. One of such measures is to facilitate the development of Open Application Programming Interfaces ("Open API"), so that banks may allow access to some of the data of their customers by their working partners (such as credit card companies, Octopus Card Limited, insurance companies, travel agents and online shopping platforms) which have access to their systems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as there are comments that when banks share customers' sensitive data through Open API, it is of utmost importance to ensure that the data are kept confidential and are not tampered with, whether HKMA has drawn up rules and guidelines on the provision and receipt of data for compliance by various parties; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether HKMA has (i) required both the provider and receiver of data to ensure the secure transmission of data, avoid the use of indirect modes of transmission (such as uploading and downloading through the computer server) and prevent data loss and leakage, and (ii) drawn up relevant technical guidelines in this regard; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that banks in general have to obtain the consent of their customers prior to sharing the data about them with third parties, and to ensure that their customers are kept informed of the status of data sharing, whether HKMA has plans to remind the public to stay alert to the security of sensitive data in deciding the items of data about them in respect of which they give consent to banks for sharing with third parties; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Hon Kenneth LAU to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, more and more Hong Kong people and Mainland tourists go camping in the rural New Territories to get close to nature, filling most of the popular camp sites (e.g. Ham Tin Wan Campsite) with a hubbub from boisterous campers and overloading the relevant facilities during long holidays. On the other hand, some villagers in the vicinity of the camp sites have relayed to me that some campers litter and cause environmental hygiene problems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective quantities of refuse collected each month in the past three years at the 41 designated camp sites provided in country parks throughout Hong Kong; (2) whether it has deployed staff to conduct regular inspections on the hygiene conditions at the various designated camp sites and ticketed persons who littered; if so, of the number of persons ticketed in the past three years; (3) of the plans to step up its efforts in reminding campers to care for nature and public property; (4) whether it will review the usage of the various designated camp sites and provide more facilities at the camp sites; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (5) as it has been reported that the various designated camp sites have not been equipped with first aid facilities such as automated external defibrillators, whether the authorities will provide first aid facilities at designated camp sites so that campers who are injured or suffer from bouts of illness may receive first aid treatment; if not, of the reasons for that; and (6) as one has to tramp over hill and dale in order to go to Ham Tin Wan Campsite and Sai Wan Campsite at present, which is time consuming, whether the authorities will provide landing facilities near these two camp sites to make them conveniently accessible by sea, so as to facilitate cleaning workers to clean up refuse and ambulance personnel to transfer campers who are injured or suffer from bouts of illness to hospital for medical treatment; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public are concerned that with contacts between residents of Hong Kong and the Mainland growing day by day, there is an increasing risk of cross-boundary spread of infectious diseases. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective numbers of confirmed cases of infection with four types of multi-drug resistant bacteria (i.e. Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase producing organisms, Multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by hospital cluster, hospital name and reason for the patients seeking treatment; (2) whether it knows, among the cases in (1), the respective numbers of those where the routes of transmission were suspected to have involved (i) Mainland residents who sought medical treatment on the Mainland and (ii) Hong Kong residents who had settled on the Mainland and returned to Hong Kong for medical treatment, with a breakdown by hospital name; (3) of the number of suspected cases of infectious diseases reported to the authorities by operators of cross-boundary conveyances and staff of the various port offices in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by name of the infectious disease, as well as the details of each case; and (4) of the details concerning the exchange of information among the relevant authorities of Hong Kong, Macao and the Guangdong Province in each of the past five years under the infectious disease notification mechanism, including the name of diseases, number of cases, number of deaths, age group and causative agents; among such information, the respective numbers of cases involving the infectious diseases listed in Schedule 1 to the Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance (Cap. 599) and the infectious diseases caused by infectious agents listed in Schedule 2 to the same Ordinance?
*18. Hon Jimmy NG to ask: (Translation)
The Government is currently drafting a legislative proposal for establishing a Policy Holders' Protection Scheme ("PPS"), which aims to protect policy holders' interest by compensating policy holders or securing the continuity of insurance contracts in case an insurer becomes insolvent. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will put in place measures to reduce the moral hazards (e.g. insurers successively launching insurance products with high expected returns but high risks while members of the public being willing to take out such products as they ignore the related risks and focus on returns only) which may potentially arise from PPS; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that under the relevant protection scheme implemented by the Singapore authorities, claims for non-life policies are completely covered without an upper limit, whether such an arrangement will be adopted for PPS; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that under the relevant protection scheme implemented by the Singapore authorities, a post-funding arrangement has been put in place to empower the authorities to charge a levy from insurers in the event that the total amount of funds is insufficient to settle all claims, whether such an arrangement will be adopted for PPS; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether PPS will cover policies under the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme, which will be implemented shortly; if so, of the details?
*19. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
To address the problem that quite a number of enterprises have encountered difficulties in opening and maintaining bank accounts, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") issued in September 2016 a circular entitled "De-risking and Financial Inclusion" to authorized institutions, emphasizing that the customer due diligence ("CDD") measures adopted by banks should be proportionate to the risk level, and that they were not required to implement overly stringent CDD processes. In addition, HKMA issued a circular entitled "Guideline on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing - Address Verification Requirements" in October 2017 to inform banks that the address verification requirements set out in the "Guideline on Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (for Authorized Institutions)" would be formally removed, and thereafter banks would only be required to collect the address information of the customers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether HKMA knows, since the issue of the aforesaid first circular, the respective numbers of bank account opening ("account opening") applications from new enterprises received, approved and rejected by banks each month, and the average time taken for the vetting and approval of the applications; in respect of such applications, (i) how the success rate and the time for the vetting and approval of them compare with those before the issue of the circular, and (ii) the relevant figures of those in which the applicants were overseas enterprises; (2) of the number of complaints, received by HKMA since the issue of the aforesaid first circular, about banks rejecting account opening applications from new enterprises; whether HKMA has compiled statistics on the types of enterprises mainly involved in such applications and the reasons for the rejection; and (3) whether HKMA has assessed the effectiveness of the aforesaid second circular in solving the problem of new enterprises experiencing difficulties in opening accounts; if so, of the outcome; if not, whether HKMA will conduct such an assessment?
*20. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
The Innovation and Technology Commission ("ITC") has set up assessment panels for the vetting and approval of the relevant funding applications made to the various funding schemes under ITC. Some members of the technology sector have criticized that due to the complicated procedure, the outdated criteria and the excessively long time taken (e.g. more than a year in some cases) for the vetting and approval of such applications, enterprises are unable to benefit from such schemes at an opportune time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective average numbers of working days taken in the past three years (i) from the Secretariat of the Enterprise Support Scheme receiving an application to the applicant being invited to make a presentation, and (ii) from the assessment panel's decision to support an application to the signing of the funding agreement between the authorities and the company concerned; (2) whether it has set a target time in respect of the following: the secretariat of a funding scheme's (i) responding to an applicant's enquiry upon receipt, and (ii) informing an applicant of the progress for the vetting and approval of the application concerned upon receipt of supplementary information from the applicant; (3) as some applicants have relayed that they have difficulties in making long-term planning for their companies' operations during the time when they are awaiting the outcome of their applications, and this affects small and medium enterprises and start-up enterprises more seriously, whether the authorities will enhance the communication with such enterprises so that such enterprises can anticipate the time when the outcome of their applications will be known; (4) given that some persons-in-charge of funded companies have relayed that as quite a number of innovative technology products and services are only offered by a single provider, they are unable to submit at least two quotations for the goods and services to be procured in accordance with the requirements under the funding schemes, of the measures that the authorities have put in place to deal with such situation; (5) of the academic background of ITC's staff who are responsible for the preliminary screening of the projects under application, and whether such staff have grasped the relevant knowledge about the latest research and development ("R&D") and application products or services; the respective percentages of the members in each assessment panel who are from the academia, technology sector, private equity and capital market, etc. and the quorum of each assessment panel; whether the authorities will adjust the composition of the various assessment panels from time to time in response to the ever-evolving technological advancement to ensure that the members have an understanding of the latest R&D and application products or services so that the relevant applications can be considered fairly; and (6) whether the authorities will inform the applicants of the reasons for their applications being rejected; if not, whether such an arrangement will be made; whether the authorities have put in place an appeal mechanism under which members of the assessment panel other than those who were involved in the original vetting and approval of the application concerned will be responsible for reviewing the appeal lodged by the applicant?
*21. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
A number of accidents resulting in casualties caused by failures of lifts in old buildings have occurred one after another in recent years. Widely known cases include: in February this year, a lift mechanic was crushed to death by a lift at On Yam Estate, Kwai Chung; on the 8th of last month, a lift in Waterside Plaza, Tsuen Wan, ascended at a high speed and then smashed the top of the lift shaft, causing injury to a couple; and on the 11th of this month, a woman died after getting her leg trapped by the closing doors of a lift and then falling to the bottom of the shaft in Sheung Shui Town Centre, Sheung Shui. Quite a number of members of the public are extremely concerned about the proper repair and maintenance of the lifts in their residences. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the total number of lifts in buildings which are more than 30 years old; among them, of the number of lifts situated in Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin Districts; (2) of the policies in place to monitor the repair and maintenance of lifts in old buildings; whether it has stepped up monitoring efforts in response to the frequent occurrence of lift accidents in old buildings in recent years; (3) of the respective brands and models of lifts, as far as the authorities know, among the many lifts in old buildings, (i) the supply of parts for which from the original manufacturers is no longer available and (ii) the manufacturers of which no longer provide the relevant lift repair and maintenance services in Hong Kong; (4) of the current manpower in the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department ("EMSD") responsible for the work of monitoring lift safety; among which, the manpower responsible for Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin Districts; (5) whether it will consider implementing the proposal from a member of the Kwun Tong District Council (To Tai constituency) that a fund be set up by the Government to subsidize owners of buildings which are more than 30 years old for carrying out inspection, repair and replacement of old-model lifts therein, so as to safeguard public safety; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) whether it will establish a contingency mechanism for lifts which are more than 30 years old so that when an emergency lift incident or accident has occurred, or when members of the public have noticed any anomalies or signs of danger on lifts, the contingency mechanism may be activated immediately to cope with the situation; (7) as it has been reported that the Registered Lift Contractors' Performance Rating Scheme established by EMSD is virtually non-existent as quite a number of contractors with no safety star or quality star may still undertake works, whether the authorities have reviewed the loopholes in the existing mechanism; if so, of the details; if not, whether a review will be conducted immediately; and (8) of the respective numbers of registered lift contractors (i) whose performance was rated as substandard, (ii) who were issued warning letters, and (iii) who were fined or had their registration revoked due to contravention of regulation, in the past three years?
*22. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
At present, the import and export of Chinese herbal medicines, proprietary Chinese medicines and related products containing ingredients from bear gall bladders are regulated under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap. 586). Given that the practice of extracting bile from live bears is extremely cruel and inhumane, a number of international organizations which are concerned about animal welfare have in recent years actively called upon various countries to step up the regulation of the trade of products containing ingredients from bear gall bladders. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the quantity of products containing ingredients from bear gall bladders which were legally imported into Hong Kong in each of the past five years (with a breakdown by place of origin); whether it knows, among such products, the respective quantities of those sold in Hong Kong and transshipped to the Mainland and to other places; (2) given that the international activities of illegal hunting and killing of wild bears have all along remained rampant owing to the huge profits that may be generated by the sale of products containing ingredients from bear gall bladders, coupled with the report that the Huanggang customs and excise authorities on the Mainland have earlier on seized at the Huanggang Port 13 bear gall bladders with a total weight of 297.71 grams from a private car travelling to the Mainland, whether the authorities will step up the law enforcement efforts in Hong Kong and raise the relevant penalty level to combat the illegal import and export of products containing ingredients from bear gall bladders; (3) whether the authorities will enact legislation expeditiously to impose a total ban on (i) the import and export of products containing ingredients from bear gall bladders and (ii) any form of trading in bear gall bladders; if so, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) as some Chinese medicine experts have pointed out that some clinical researches have proved that certain Chinese herbal medicines have the same efficacy as bear gall bladders, whether the authorities will step up their efforts in public education to avoid using bear gall bladders in medicine by members of the public; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Government Motion
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Proposed resolution under Article 73(7) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and section 7A of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (Cap. 484)
Chief Secretary for Administration to move the motion in the Appendix. |
| (The motion was issued on 16 May 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 599/17-18) |
IV. Members' Motions
| 1. | Developing primary healthcare services
Hon WU Chi-wai to move the following motion: (Translation) That the Chief Executive outlined in her Policy Address the governance vision on primary healthcare, and the Financial Secretary also indicated in the Budget that as the Government was conducting a comprehensive review of the planning for primary healthcare services with a view to drawing up a blueprint, he would set aside necessary resources to fully support this initiative; in order to effectively develop primary healthcare services, this Council urges the Government to: | ||||
| (1) | in the allocation of overall resources for public healthcare services, increase the resources for primary healthcare services, and allocate $10 billion to set up a seed fund to subsidize the public to undergo physical check-ups for prevention of diseases;
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| (2) | in response to the growth of the elderly population, comprehensively review the service model of elderly health centres, and set up additional community health centres in various districts, so that the public can receive the necessary medical and nursing services in the community;
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| (3) | increase the annual amount of subsidy under the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme to no less than $3,000, and step up regulation of healthcare service providers, so as to prevent elderly people from being misled into using healthcare vouchers improperly;
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| (4) | develop comprehensive public dental services, including extending the School Dental Care Service to secondary school students and implementing a universal dental care service scheme;
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| (5) | provide half-fee concessions to all elderly people using public healthcare services, so as to prevent them from delaying disease treatment due to financial problems;
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| (6) | make better use of the funds for public-private partnership to implement more screening programmes, so that members of the public can take measures to address their health problems as early as possible; and
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| (7) | relax the application threshold of the Samaritan Fund, waive the requirement that means test must be conducted on a household basis, and lower the proportion of drug costs to be shared by patients.
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Hon Mrs Regina IP, Prof Hon Joseph LEE, Hon CHAN Han-pan, Hon Michael TIEN, Hon Alice MAK and Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to move amendments to the motion
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| (The amendments were issued on 14 May 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 586/17-18) | |||||
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| 2. | Strengthening regional collaboration and jointly building the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area
Hon Jeffrey LAM to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council urges the HKSAR Government to seize the opportunities presented by the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area ('the Bay Area') to lobby the relevant Mainland ministries and the Guangdong Provincial Government for implementation of various measures, so as to make life more convenient for Hong Kong people (including studying, working, retiring, etc.) in the Bay Area; the HKSAR Government should also strengthen communication and cooperation with the Macao SAR Government and the relevant Mainland provincial/municipal departments, in a bid to foster diversified economic development in the region and jointly develop the Bay Area into a first-class international bay area and a world-class city cluster; specific policy measures include: | ||||
| (1) | striving for the Mainland authorities' further relaxation of the restrictions on investment, business start-up and employment faced by Hong Kong people on the Mainland, so as to facilitate the flows of personnel, goods and capital between both places, thereby increasing development opportunities for Hong Kong people;
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| (2) | promoting the development of creative industries and related enterprises, and inducing top-class Mainland and overseas enterprises, research and development organizations and tertiary institutions to move into the Bay Area, so as to expedite the formation of an innovation and technology industry chain in the region;
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| (3) | exploring the feasibility of allowing Hong Kong people working in the Bay Area to pay tax to either the Hong Kong Government or the Mainland Government, so as to avoid them having to pay double tax;
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| (4) | promoting mutual recognition of professional qualifications, providing support to professionals who wish to seek development on the Mainland, and issuing work permits to overseas technology talents employed by Hong Kong companies, so as to facilitate the flows of talents between Hong Kong and various cities in the Bay Area;
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| (5) | promoting tourism integration in the Bay Area to expedite tourism development of the Bay Area; and
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| (6) | striving for the opening up of more 24-hour boundary control points, so as to deepen exchanges between both places and bring convenience to Hong Kong residents who frequently work in the Bay Area.
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Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok, Hon Christopher CHEUNG, Hon Charles Peter MOK, Hon YUNG Hoi-yan, Hon YIU Si-wing, Hon Tony TSE, Hon Michael TIEN, Dr Hon Pierre CHAN, Hon WU Chi-wai, Hon Martin LIAO, Hon Kenneth LEUNG, Hon HO Kai-ming, Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan and Hon Jimmy NG to move amendments to the motion
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| (The amendments were issued on 14 May 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 587/17-18) | |||||
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